Only days after my initial careless omission of TWiT (this WEEK in TECH) in the list of the best free tech industry podcasts, I was fortunate enough to see Leo Laporte — who has a background in media, including radio and television — give an insider’s talk about podcasting at last week’s MacWorld. Here are some professional tips I picked up for current or would-be podcasters:
- Bring passion. When developing a subject idea for a new podcast program, don’t try to game the media market — find what you love or care about and talk about it. If you focus your show on what you’re passionate and knowledgeable about, you’re much more likely to generate interest and be successful.
- Specialize in a niche. There are thousands of audio shows available, and, for every topic you can think of, there’s at least one podcast for it. So instead of starting a new program about old cars, for example, start out by focusing on old Corvettes. Interview Corvette owners, dealers, and restorers. You can always expand your focus later. Also, don’t worry about getting a huge audience right away. If you have an audience of 1,000 dedicated listeners, you’re doing well. One thousand is a lot of people; if you were speaking to that many in person, it’d be an impressive crowd.
- Overcome self-consciousness. The way your voice sounds to you — i.e., how it sounds literally through your own head — is very different from how it sounds through a microphone or recording. This is because mics and recordings are not "accurate"; they boost some frequencies and eliminate others. Many people hate the sound of their own voice on a recording and become very self-conscious of it. Laporte advises novice media professionals to stop worrying about what their voice sounds like, and similarly, if they’re videocasting, to stop worrying about their hair, their clothes, their physique, and so on. His secret? Remember that your function is to "serve the audience." The audience isn’t there to judge your voice, your hair, your age, your looks; they’re listening, giving you their time, because they’re interested in what you have to say. When you understand this, it becomes much easier to stop worrying about what you look or sound like and instead to focus on serving your audience with the enthusiasm and knowledge you have for the subject. (I later remarked to Laporte that "serving the audience" sounds like a Buddhist approach to audio programming; he replied that he tries to live his life this way. Perhaps he could write a how-to book titled Zen and the Art of Podcasting: East meets Web?)
- Be genuine. Along the same lines as overcoming self-consciousness, Laporte warned against developing a fake persona to hide your true self. He described the talking heads you see and hear in the media, with their gel-sculpted hair and veneered teeth and "early-morning disc jockey voice." (You know the sound: think of "Duffman" from The Simpsons, or any cheesy radio commercial for a dubious get-rich-quick scheme.) Laporte said that he’d relied on such a fake voice when he first started in radio because he was so nervous. Eventually, though, he realized that being himself — and focusing on serving the audience — garnered much better results, including a bigger, more dedicated audience, and more personal enjoyment. People want to connect with a real human being, not a superficial facsimile of one.
- Speak extemporaneously. Of course, you want to plan, research, and prepare a bulleted list of points and topics for the show — but once you’re live, don’t read. Reading is considered "radio death." The exception to this rule, Laporte mentioned, is acting; a good actor can read from prepared text and make it sound improvisational. (In fact, Laporte recommends taking improv classes and has done so himself; improv helps you learn how to listen, which makes you a better commuicator and, again, better able to serve the audience.) But the vast majority of radio personalities use a combination of solid preparation before the show and spontaneity during it. In fact, Laporte said, some of the best talk show hosts are on in the middle of the night, when very few listeners call in (and often the ones who do can be a bit nuts), because they can "B.S. for hours" and sound comfortable and natural.
- Avoid verbal crutches. Verbal tics like you know, sort of and like, if used often, distract your audience from what you’re trying to communicate. Of the ubiquitous um, Laporte theorized that speakers rely on this vocalized pause to fill silent time in between thoughts — because, in our culture, when one person stops talking, someone else will take the temporary silence as an invitation to start. "Saying ummm . . . is a way of holding the floor so that no one else jumps in and starts speaking." Toastmasters — (find a local club near you) — helps many speakers reduce or eliminate their filler words. In addition, Lifehacker advises practicing public speaking to overcome nervousness, and the referenced Mother Tongue Annoyances article recommends reviewing video recordings of yourself speaking (the Reddit comments for this article contains a collection of excellent tips).
- Invest in a good microphone. Experienced in both video (television) and audio (radio, podcasts), Laporte says he prefers audio. The connection to the audience is more intimate, and — especially if a listener is hearing the program via earphones — the communication travels directly from the host’s voice to the listener’s brain, without the distancing effect of a video screen. To this end, it helps not only to develop a professional sounding voice, but to enhance that voice with the best recording equipment. Each make and model of microphone is unique, with its own set of specs and sound. Mics can run between a couple hundred bucks on the low end to several thousand dollars. (Laporte describes the podcasting equipment he uses in detail, including photos.) Try out different mics to find one that flatters your natural voice. Women and others with a high-pitched voice would benefit from using a mic with warmer tones to reduce any shrillness (although Laporte joked that Gilbert Gottfried has made a lucrative career out of his "annoying" voice). If you have a call-in show, don’t worry too much about the quality of the incoming calls, even if it’s featured guests who are calling in for interviews and discussions. As long as the host sounds good, the show will sound professional.
Following his talk about podcasting, the audience had a chance to see Laporte’s media skills in action, as he joined co-host Megan Morrone for a live-from-MacWorld recording of Jumping Monkeys, a show about parenting in the digital age. You can also catch the live MacWorld edition of TWiT and post comments to the Leoville Town Square discussion forum.
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Posted January 24, 2008 by Mariva in audio, business, career, media, resources, technology
Just counting the legitimate, non-spam stuff, are you overwhelmed by email? You’re not alone. Email overload is a problem facing everyone from students and teachers to high-level executives to Congress. Too much email consumes your time, stresses you out and even impairs your mental acuity.
What to do? Organizing guru Julie Morgenstern says it all in the title of her new time-management book: Never Check E-Mail in the Morning. And Merlin Mann, proprietor of 43 Folders (no relation to 43 Things), seems particularly fascinated with email management and personal productivity. For those facing information overload, Mann advises canceling something and getting a fresh start with email, among other email management tips.
In addition, business columnist Penelope Trunk suggests getting control over your email by separating your email from your "to-do" list; responding to email within 24 hours even if it means composing short, non-"amazing" messages; and sorting by sender to find out if you can compile a single response to the few people who have been sending you the most messages. 
(Update: Farai Chideya defines a "happy inbox.")
You can help others manage their own overload by avoiding common email pet peeves — and whatever you do, do not email and text message while intoxicated!
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Posted January 20, 2006 by Mariva in business, career, resources, social
How do you manage all the information in your life? For a busy person — and who isn’t these days? — it can be a challenge to find the right information management system. It may help to know that no system is perfect — each has its pros and cons — and you might end up using a combination of several tools to create a customized information management system that works best for you.
Professional organizer Julie Morgenstern advises choosing a single system — paper-based or electronic — for managing all your personal data (calendar, contacts, "to-do" list, notes, expenses, etc.) Time-tested paper-based systems include the venerable Filofax, FranklinCovey, Day-Timer, and my favorite (and best-looking, in my opinion) organizer pages, Day Runner. Desktop software applications include the robust ACT! contact management software, Microsoft OneNote and IBM Lotus Organizer. And, of course, there is a plethora of handheld devices and PDAs to choose from.
Because each medium has its own advantages, I use all of these in conjuction:
- Microsoft Outlook as my desktop PIM. I used to use Palm Desktop until the sheer volume of data I was managing unleashed some sort of glitch that crashed the application with increasing frequency. (Perhaps this bug has been fixed in subsequent versions.)
- A Palm PDA, with the data synched to Outlook, thanks to Chapura PocketMirror.
- A series of Excel spreadsheets to manage my business data, fitness record, reading list, wish list and generic weekly schedule.
- A good old-fashioned notebook and pen — although I haven’t graduated to the Hipster PDA yet.
While it may seem complicated to use all of these tools, all of my information is well organized, and if my desk isn’t already clear, it’s very easy to tidy up.
Other resources worth considering:
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Posted January 5, 2006 by Mariva in books, business, career, gadgets, innovations, resources
Feeling creatively blocked? Try a pack of IDEO Method Cards, a tool that helps designers, innovators, entrepreneurs and others come up with new ideas, approaches and strategies for business and creative endeavors. Each card features a photograph, diagram, drawing or other image on the front and a suggested approach on the back. You don’t have to be a professional designer to appreciate how these cards can help you think about things differently or conduct thought experiments in the everyday world. IDEO provides four examples online; if you’re intrigued by these, you’ll hunger for the whole deck.
Posted December 9, 2005 by Mariva in business, career, education, fun, games, gifts, innovations, resources
Thinking about teaching English abroad? Check out Dave’s ESL Cafe, where you can find job boards, books, links and a photo gallery of students in other countries. English teachers and students alike may find it helpful to review the lists of idioms, phrasal verbs, pronunciation and slang.
Posted November 3, 2005 by Mariva in business, career, community, education, resources, travel
